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A big smile, a surprise – fun and dedication.. .time to kvell!



I’ve been a full-time stay at home mom for quite some time now – since I was pregnant with my youngest.
With the 3 older ones, I used to work in the City. It was easier for me because I had my parents and siblings nearby who watched and raised my little crumbcatchers.

With the youngest, we spent the past 10 years growing together...that's why he'll always be the baby.

As far as my youngest is concerned, home is where MOM is. Mom and Home are inseperable!

This weekend, my youngest won his first (ever) gold medal in the All-around gymnastics competition during the LVSA Invitational in PA. It was an unexpected, yet pleasant surprise.

A lot of fun...a lot of hardwork...a lot of commitment.

Our weekends and weeknights are hectic driving our younger sons to their activities – music recordings, gymnastics rehearsals and competitions. (Luckily, our 2 older ones are in college). So yesterday, on the way to the train station – as I dropped off my husband, he mentioned that it had been quite some time since him and I had quiet moments together.

We had 20 minutes before the train arrives so we walked to the coffee-bagel store nearby and had some precious 20-minute quality time, and made plans for a simple dinner date before the holidays, Purple Rain concerts and Broadway plays! Happy thoughts...

I drove back home, and ran 3.4 miles in the snow-flurry freezing cold with my dear friend. We were just chatting for 35 minutes as we ran around the block, to the nearby lake and back home. We didn’t realize that we actually accomplished something neither her or I thought was even possible – and the best part of it all, I totally enjoyed the run. I guess the professional runners are right – once you do a mile, you just keep adding another mile! I am definitely going to channel the Forest Gump in me this year (lol). Maybe I can convince my friend (running partner) to sign-up for the half-marathon in May 2011. More happy thoughts...

I guess if you enjoy doing something, tasks do come easy…

Which brings me back to my little guy.





As I review these competition photographs of our youngest, I can’t help but think how blessed we are to have happy children.

My little guy always has a smile. There’s nothing that really brings him down (pooh-pooh). While watching him compete, he was so focused and enjoyed every event. I kept track of his scores from last year and noticed that he had improved, but I didn’t realize that he was doing great!


So during the awards ceremony, when they announced that he won 1st place in the floor routine exercise, we were excited and glad that at least he was coming home with an award.



And then the 2nd event – pommel horse, he won first place again! We were just so excited for him. His smile kept getting wider and wider.




So my husband and I thought, great – that’s awesome!



And then the 3rd event – rings, he won first place again! I couldn’t believe it. My husband was working on a laptop and he was shaking his head ! We were both happy for our little guy!


Of course, the little guy was smiling ear to ear now…and a few parents asked me,
       “Is that your son ?”
And I nodded with a big smile of course!

And the parents said,
     “He won first place for the BEST SMILE – if you ask us!”

I humbly said, “thank you!”.




And then my little guy continued to win 2nd place in the parallel bar, 3rd place in the high bar and 6th place in vault.



At that point, we figured, my little guy must have been in cloud nine!



Here are some photos of the little guy on rings...





And then the awards for the All Around were announced. My husband and I thought that maybe our little guy will be in the top 6 at least...needless to say, we were so happy for our little one! He won his first gold medal in the All-around!







It was a lovely night. We didn’t get back home until 10pm, but it was a nice drive back home.




HOME…home is where the family gathers together. I am so lucky to have a home, a home for my family. I am thankful that my family can be together “somewhat” this holiday season. I am thankful that no one is celebrating the holiday season alone.

With all that accomplishments, there's one thing my little asked for: Christmas lights outdoors!
He even added,
 "Mom, if we don't put the Christmas lights outside, it just seems like we don't care about Christmas anymore..."So I guess I have to bundle up and put up the Christmas lights...for my little guy!


There are times that we tend to think that life is “fercockt” …but if we pivot our perception to what’s good, we will definitely see a few little things that makes us “ver clempt” because every day, there’s always something you can do to make your day – and someone else’s… a better day: and it’s just by making that other person, SMILE.

As my favorite phrase goes,
    SMILE, you’ll get more of it in return!






(My Thanksgiving wish is coming true...)
All I asked was to have "happy children".
(I should have asked for a mega-million jackpot to go with it, too! lol)


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Comments

  1. BuckeroomamaDecember 9, 2010 at 8:40 AM

    Oh, Jenjen! I was smiling as I was reading this. I am so happy for your little guy and for your family. =) Congratulations to him for winning the All-Around Gold. He must be so proud of himself for having put in all the hard work and practice. (Well done to you, too, for raising him to be the little guy that he is today.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. GottaLoveMomDecember 10, 2010 at 12:30 AM

    thank you..it's really nice to see the kids get excited about something they worked really hard for.

    ReplyDelete

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